Most kids love to sleep in every day. Even if they have the most energy you’ve ever seen during the day, it can still be tremendously difficult to get them up in time for school or early morning practice. It might make sense for something they don’t like to attend (like school), but why does it happen on the weekends for early baseball practice?
It might be because your child has not yet learned the importance of punctuality. With recreational sports, you have an excellent opportunity to show your child the importance of punctuality at a young age.
The opportunity comes because there are so many instances where tardiness will be punished by the coach. For example, if they are late for a soccer practice because they slept in, it’s very possible the coach will demote them to the bench for a couple of games. This is a negative re-enforcement that will illustrate to your child the importance of being ready on time – and the best part is that you did not have to do any actual ‘teaching’ to get the message across!
It Gets Harder with Age
If your child hits teenage-hood without internalizing the importance of punctuality, you can basically assume they will remain tardy for most of their adult life. This could impact their success at school, their record in the workplace, and ability to even pay taxes on time every year!
Here’s the thing: being clear about the merits of punctuality needs to happen in childhood because it is at a young age that kids are most impressionable. A lot is at stake and recreational sports is a tool to help.
But How Important is Punctuality, Really?
It is commonly understood that punctual kids are far more successful at school.
Here are 3 reasons why recreational sports help your child learn the benefits of punctuality at a young age:
1. Creates Routine. One of the most important components to a healthy and structured life is routine. Creating a routine for your child that is sustainable is the key, and sports is a great tool for that. Two weeknight practices and one weekend game is just enough structure outside of school to keep your child in sync. The best routines are those that don’t change much week-over-week, and sports is great for that.
2. Supports Schedule Making and Planning. Your child can see from the organization of their team that scheduling and planning is key to success. A well-organized team schedule will be seamless and enjoyable for everyone. As an adult, you can probably attest to the fact that punctuality is all about time-management, and the key to successful time-management is scheduling your own time effectively. All these different attributes are being digested by your child as they attend weekly practices and realize how much time they need to prepare for a game.
3. Enforces the Importance of Obligation. Missing a game or practice because you did not leave on time is the greatest lesson in punctuality your child can learn. Being part of a team creates an obligation to be ready at the scheduled time. Once this lesson is internalized and understood, it can be applied to every other life pursuit, whether it’s school, work, a meeting, or leaving the house with enough time to catch a flight.
Source: https://www.leaguenetwork.com